do the dance. it is lori rothman. [laughter] by have no doubt. >> i was tempted. but i am sitting. the countdown is 17 points. >> i am melissa francis of election is over but the president heads the campaign trail to talk about his solution for the fiscal cliff. nothing is getting done in washington. >> what is rich's the $230,000 for a tough pill to swallow for new tax hikes. so now it will buy even make dead-end. what does lou dobbs think? melissa: corporate america racing to get ahead of the cliff with wall street funds to help your wallet.

melissa: time for stocks ahead to the floor of the new york stock exchange with nicole petallides confidence hitting the post recession peak but traders are not buying it? >> >> of its numbers result of the market moved higher the dow moving into the green but now was sells off continuing the trend. we're doing much of the same we're under pressure with dow jones industrial average but also of the nasdaq has some of perot's. the confidence numbers of the highest levels since february 2008 also case-schiller shows the total order for durable goods is unchanged. we have a deal on wall street and some upgrades so

there are bits and pieces and many are rushing to get ahead of the fiscal cliff. lori: with the potential tax increase with dividends companies to try to get a job and are paying dividends early before jittery first. joined the is seen him from s&p capital investment strategist. i know you just put out your outlook for the 12 month target? we are just about 1400 today. that is significant? >> basically it is a 10 percent increase. how could you come up with any type of forecast based on all of the clouded

issues? we had a relatively weak summertime. >> have you ever see them more complicated time with the market's favor the romney victory. now the issues you raised one advice you give? >> look beyond the valley. local -- global gdp and we see around the world the trough is likely to be seen and corporate earnings and the u.s. are likely to be tracing out with a flat shape thinking we have come in through the slump in earnings so stick with the equity exposure. don't like to not to anticipate a big sell-off.

lori: we have dividend payers with the crux of the interview with the company's moving up the payout date to avoid the likely tax is that the stock by? with an historic low interest rates? >> i think so. looking at the yield of a little more than 1.5% u.k. gilt variety of companies paying 3% or more. focus on the history of the track record of increasing their dividend and focus on those with buy recommendations. lori: do not be a big part of that is great. but look at the overall capital gains there will be fewer dollars invested or will the drama ago one

slowdown because of that concern? with just fewer dollars in the market? will people hold theer cash? >> then they will lose more because they get zero% and will lose inflation. you don't sleep better at night to put your money and your mattress because it makes noise. just be smart to rebut your money. i still think that a higher interest-rate quality stocks will be borne attractive than bonds. lori: good to see you. good luck i know your offices were damaged by the hurricane. good luck to you. melissa: three weeks since the election and no signs of promise with the fiscal cliff negotiation.

can they settle differences before we go over the edge? rich edson has the latest. >> three weeks later washington politicians take the fiscal clipper demint to the voters again. obama's heads to suburban philadelphia. white house officials will say he continues to make his case to keep them where they are earning less than two 1/5 thousand and those making more. after a week of meetings of ceo and business leaders but not any with congressional negotiators. >> instead of sitting down with lawmakers to work out agreement, he is back on the campaign trail with the same talking points. >> the president tries to dramatize what the president shows the 60% of voters

agree the wealthy should pay more in taxes. >> and republicans are responding that house republicans will visit local small businesses to emphasize the threat to jobs posed by the small business tax hike. lori: the epa may impose new regulations on air quality and carbon emissions and now one of particular is trying to prevent them from going into effect and peter barnes has details. senator inhofe the most vocal critic of the epa, the heartland institute presented him with more than 16,000 petitions and that demand congress cohmad graner wrote agency cut the size and power and funding

funding" charging the obama administration's load or delayed the epa regulations to help the reelection campaign from ozone standards now the agency will flood the nation with costly new rule. >> as costly as they are, they all fail to the cost of the greenhouse gas regulation i cannot even tell you how much this will cost. >> the white house did not respond for comment but said it seeks to balance economic and environmental considerations when deciding what regulations to issue. melissa: insider-trading to urges 41 topper for only a manager but the founder of the hedge fund stands pat and charlie gasparino has a report.

lori: looking at metals gold is down. we had some hawkish comments this morning the other metals are also trending lower. we will be right back.

>> charles is then the studio he has a tech stocks

for your portfolio hitting the 52 week high today. >> are you familiar? you know, the nasdaq signed ? very controversial company the stock is ben of ben down the brothers founded it had a fight now things are coming together things are falling into place globally of course, we know the mandates people will have to start to switching their lightbulb but black friday everybody bought televisions they are about 56% penetration all of these will be back with with celly the technology. >> it has the high p/e ratio.

but tomorrow there is a presentation at credit suisse. lately have noticed companies take off. what we're looking at is said true break out. it is breaking through on higher than average volume. this is what i chase all the time. i think you could make money eight out of 10 times. >> good double top gives, -- confidence because typically pullback it is easiest reformation it is seems to work and what it doesn't but huge volume today. i bet they may say something that could justify that but just leave the fundamentals alone. lori: i just learned something.

so let's check the market's of the stock ashamed to end right on the $1 million asset? >> to divert away from equities look at the exchange traded funds. this is the newest member and actively managed from the emerging market atf but the ticker symbol is bnl growing in popularity some of the market factor currency bond is the newest member. today it is up 1/4 of 1%. back to you. melissa: breaking news are reports apple has fired

richard -- ahead of the mapping team after the aflac and countered a number of problems. this comes less than one month after the executive scoff forestall was asked to leave the company. he refused to sign his name on a letter apologizing for the shortcomings of the new mapping service. the controversy continues another executive falling by the wayside and the stock trades down. >> defused to sign the letter of apology and it is the report he had clashed along time with other people but nonetheless. >> as they see capital and across hairs after a portfolio manager charged

with insider trading now steven cole went tries to stop the bleeding and charlie gasparino has exclusive new details. melissa: will taxing americans to make over to under 2000 per year make a dent? we will do the math. it is not at a gnat. ♪ ♪ ♪ ons, but obligatio. ons, but obligatio. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your rtfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors chooseshares for their etfs.

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>> 21 minutes past the hour three republican senators say concerns have grown over misleading statements that suzanne rice made about the consulate in the bill. john mccain and lindsey graham met with rice over her initial comments that she stemmed stage said stemmed from the islamic -- anti-islamic video. palestinian officials say yes arafat remains have been reburied after being exhumed into an investigation

progress samples were given to experts from switzerland switzerland, france and russia to determine if he was murdered. the roller-coaster swept off appeared during the superstore will not stay put to professionals are in talks to remove what remains of the ride saying leaving it in the water could be a good tourist attraction. now back to melissa francis and lori rothman. >> what do we know? >> thank you. [laughter] hedge fund founder is not stepping down and things are winding down and the massive hedge fund and save me from that introduction. >> wrote that.

it was poetic. >> do we know? here is what we know. with the preliminaries massive insider trading investigation, the big hedge fund trader himself under the spotlight and they always have to get out of the way i am told the is not stepping down. >> when you talk to people eight have a lot of heat on him. he is proud and iconic. >> but when the justice department is after you you are nodding control. he is not stepping down. also here is what we do know

he is expected to say that the fund that he runs indemnifies investors on losses in the cost associated with the investigation. if there is ill-gotten gains clawback because the former manager that made money apparently on the alleged insider trading if that is clawback by the justice department or cause associated that he will indemnify the fund and will pay that out of his pocket so investors don't take it on the chin. because they are scared. sac capital is getting calls woody doing? did when this happens you have to worry about a run of the bank.

they have close to investors who they may start to other things this puts a crimp on back. officials have described this as 13 -- routine. that is true but the heat is turned up on sac and steve cohen himself. lori: he has to be preparing >> this is due. he has not been charge. sac has not been charged. with the indictment on matthew the% that he shared the information with, it is clear irritation not clear if he said inside deprivation by sharing itself was steve cohen. as we first reported they tapped his phone and have

been going after him four years. they have about seven people around him and it is very decentralized it is known as the hub and spoke other managers go to him with their best ideas a. the notion is to they bombard him with those ideas? to say i have the legal tip. this is a big band. his money is in this but this fund will see the final run. let's just say the fed cannot get anything on him with a don't ask don't tell operation. the government as ways to shutdown if they think

you're not compliant or if you ignore compliance or ignore it if they go activity. -- illegal activity. senior government officials say he is problematic. i think insider trading is a victimless crime they should go after the bernie madoff or maybe the excessive risk taking -- taking or the big banks i don't think this is a big thing but they think he is problematic. melissa: that is a problem for euro. lori: crowding the streets in cairo. >> a budding democracy? added to listen to those protesters that once president morsi to resign.

we have the latest on the situation. above first look at the winners and losers on the s&p 500. corning is having a great day. we will be right back.

melissa: time for stocks now as we do every 15 minutes. let's head to the floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole petallides is standing by. after nearly two years, finally, getting its hands

on rail corp.. >> that's right. when i heard this on the radio this morning, it i said, again? this is the kind of thing that has been going on for 20 months. now it really has gone forward. conagra agrees to by ralcorp. this is for $5.9 billion. so nearly $5 billion deal. the deal together would create the second largest u.s. food package company with sales of about $18 billion. this is no small deal, folks. this is really a big one and with the purchase agreement here? we're talking about conagra agrees to by ralcorp for $90 a share. see where it is right now. 88.85. it had a significant move. it is not at the purchase price but up about 27%. ralcorp hit a new 52-week high. conagra is doing well also up 4.25%. this deal contributing, will contribute to earnings for conagra as well. this is a big deal here

underway. we've been seeing both companies with up arrows. back to you. melissa: nicole, thanks so much. lori: real interesting that the acquirer conagra is showing gains today. that's sometimes unusual in deals. upbeat u.s. economic data and a deal to give greece another $57 billion u.s. dollars keeping crude oil in check today but rumblings of an iranian cargo tanker being investigated off the coast of greece have traders on high alert. for more let's head to the pits of cme with phil flynn ever price futures group. what do you make of it all? >> there is a roller coaster, no doubt about it. the oil prices reacted to consumer confidence. traders are really focused on this story about this greek company holding this tanzanian flag that could be potentially from iran. they're investigating the origin of oil. tanzania was accused running oil for iran to skirt eu

sanctions. this oil company doesn't believe were the oil came from. they're holding it for 24 here's. this is another sign the e.u. is serious about being cracking down on sanctions keeping pressure on iran. traders will watch this very carefully. the other market is gold is down today. we're supposed to celebrate the greek bailout. that is always bullish for gold. a lot of traders are not convinced the bailout is a done deal. a lot of concern whether greece can sell those bonds or not. gold under pressure, reacting to the dollar. back to you guys. lori: interesting point on trade on gold. phil, thank you very much as always. >> thank you. melissa: thousands of opposition protesters chanting continue the revolution and demanding that president mohammed morsi rescind decrease that they he will feel grant him absolute power. we have john bolton, former

u.s. am was door to the united nations. what does this picture tell what you is really going on and what will happen in the future here? >> honestly i don't think it tells us all that much. i think it shows there is opposition to what morsi is trying to do. he perhaps didn't anticipate the extent of it and perhaps he did and has a fall back position ready. just as the demonstrations in tahrir square two years ago did not bring democracy neither are these, to egypt. melissa: do you think it make him change his plans at all and recheck what he is doing even if his motivation is not changed? >> i think he has a fallback position he is prepared to accept even though we haven't seen it so far. the real power broker remains the military. there is every possibility that the morsi and military could find away of living together. demonstrators who are upset what morsi has done are the same demonstrators upset by

mubarak. melissa: are you surprised or does it tell you anything that the military doesn't go in and crack down to this kind of demonstration? >> i don't think it is to the military's advantage. to your earlier point, morsi is trying to dial this back. he told his own supporters not to go into the streets of cairo today to avoid a possible clash. melissa: down the road, what do you think, what kind of leader do you think he turns out to be? were you sucked in maybe last week by him going and settling, everything that was going on in the middle east, looking like he was out there brokering peace or did you see through that at the time as buying some currency for down the road? >> i don't think he was really responsible for brokering the deal. i give actually the obama administration a lot more of the responsibility. i wouldn't call it credit for pressuring both israel and the egypt to get hamas to agree to the cease-fire. it is a very limited cease-fire. it won't last. it doesn't change the strategic environment and it clearly gave morsi the view that he would have a free

hand domesticly to do what he has just done. melissa: i don't want to let you go without asking you i was struck by pictures exhuming yasser arafat questioning what he did of. what do you think of that? >> i don't think he died of polonium poisoning. only people that used that is soviets. i don't think they killed arafat. i think this is way pinning his death on somebody else. as happens in that part of the world it is not their responsibility but somebody else's. melissa: why now? >> an issue kicking around for quite some time i think circumstances led to it being this time. i don't attribute to any grander plan. i don't think it will fundamentally change the circumstance there is. melissa: ambassador, thanks for coming on. we appreciate it. lori: drop in the buckket. we know people with families more than $250,000 even make a debt in america's debt problem? we wonder what lou dobbs has

to say about that? melissa: i wonder. look at the 10-year and 30-year treasury as we head out to break here. the 10-year yield is falling two basis points. we'll show you the 30-year. we'll be right back. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... [ male announcer ] at humana, we understand the value of quality time and personal attention. which why we are proud to partner withealth care professionals who understand the difrence that quality time with our members can make... that's a very nice cake! ohh! [ giggles ] [ malennouncer ] humana thanks the physicians, nurses, hospitals, pharmacists and other health professionals who helped us achie the highest average star rating among national medicare companies... and become the first and only naonal medicare advantage company to achieve a 5-star rating for a medicare plan... your efforts result n the quality

of care and service we're able to provide... which means better health outcomes... and more quality time to share with the ones who matter mos i love you, grandma! [ male announcer ] humana. ♪ >> i'm liz macdonald with your fox business brief. it is a mixed afternoon on wall street. the dow is down 25 points to 12,942. consumer confidence climbing to nearly five-year high as americans become more optimistic about the outlook for the u.s. cone my. the conference board november reading coming in better than expected at 73.7. that is highest reading since february 2008. small business saturday is starting to draw more shoppers nationwide that want to spend holiday dollars at local stores. according to the nfib and american express, five 1/2 billion bucks of the total

thanksgiving weekend sales were small business saturday related. president obama is meeting with small business owners at 2:30 p.m. eastern time to make his case for his fiscal cliff plan. that is the latest from the fox business network, giving you the power to prosper

melissa: so even if lawmakers and the white house do reach a deal to raise tax rates on the nation's top income earners will that significantly cut into our nation's huge debt problem? check this out for some context. during the 201 fiscal year, it costs nearly $9.7 billion a day to run the federal government. oh. the additional revenue from ending the bush-era tax cuts would average $82 billion a year. so that is enough money to run the government for eight and a half days.

lori: cue outrage. >> well, the math is very simple. all we have to do is figure out the other 357 days. i don't see what the big deal is. lori: got to be spending cuts, right? this is the crux of the matter. taxes are frustrating and i understand your point but can't come without cuts. >> we've been talking about the fiscal cliff for a very long time. we've been warned of it amply. we've talked about it in detail. the reality right now we're going to find out how smart this president is, how smart the republicans are and how responsible they are. and i think this is reverse showdown. i think the first person to blink and say, you know, i'm done, is probably going to be the winner because it means that the responsibility for what ensues will be upon the intransigent and that party, whether the president or the house republicans who refuse

to move forward. lori: don't you think we need a break from all this? a lot of people suggested and hate to use overuse phrase, kick the can down the road? got to play a little devil's advocate to keep the discussion lively. >> you can do that without mentioning the can and that kicking thing. lori: now the challenge is on. why not seriously, take a breath. let new congress come in. get it off the headlines and off the top of the fold a little bit, so we can evaluate the markets and evaluate the economy? >> the markets are not going to allow that. the markets now understand very clearly the formation of capital is at risk here. we have a absolutely suffocating mountainous debt that is going to extinguish the private economy in this country. lori: bond market is letting it happen. the interest rates are staying low. >> you're quite right but it is also the most defensive position for money of that dimension to inhabit. when we see a change, then

we'll see difference ares in direction and flow of that capital but until then, this is a president and a congress, republican and democrat, that are risking everything through their lack of courage, their lack of principle, and lack of vision and responsibility. these people are playing out like they want to come away from this with a whole chapter and profiles in courage devoted to them. it is not going to happen. this is a profile in cowardice. this is profile in the lack of intellectual integrity and a absolute refusal to be straightforward with the american people. i mean we've got now the house going out to campaign with small business for their point of view. we have the president going out to talk about the wealthy. these are silly, sophomoric, political, pieces of political theater. lori: these are bipartisan frustrations. >> ttis schmidt even about partisanship or

bipartisanship. this is incompetence, banality. and they all seem to want to cherish it. meanwhile the fourth estate is covering this as if it were in fact something real and concrete when it is nothing more than process and political theater. by the way which has really crushing consequences for working men and women and families, will be paying, if we go over this cliff, over $2,000. a family, all income groups, except of course the highest, will be punished mightily. so it is time for the, you know, the macho bra vur a to be shut off and simple process be underway. melissa: i feel you will talk about this more tonight at 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern? >> we are. we'll talk to interesting people about it who have much to say themselves. melissa: you will begin the new republican reset segment

with steven hayes which i loaf. >> republican reset which is new series on "lou dobbs tonight." we'll focus on the republican party, what will be its vision, if there is to be one its contribution to the american society. what will be the destiny of this society, what will it take to reform itself and regenerate and re-energize. melissa: i like that. >> republican reset. lori: sounds good, thank you. let's check the markets for you. the dow is down 29 points right now. new york is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. cantor fitzgerald thinks yelp is a buying opportunity. let's zero in on that name. >> let's talk about yelp. the stock has pulled back. cantor fitzgerald says the pullback we've seen since november 1st, down 18% since november 1st, they have say this is an opportunity to step in and buy. the research firm, cantor fitzgerald, basically raised it to a buy from a hold. as i noted, they said this is a buying opportunity.

fourth quarter forecast they have given, caused the shares to fall. this is why we're seeing the stock here up 2 1/2%. and they're saying, basically that yelp, the local search opportunity remains compelling and intact over the intermediate to long term. so they're not saying this is some short-term play. they're really liking it for the long term and the chief financial sister was scheduled to speak at a credit suisse tech conference. we'll see if anything comes out of there. so far so good for yelp up two 1/2%. lori: thank you, first quarter coal. melissa: you have to see this one. like mother, like daughter, former guess model, anna nicole's smith's daughter is following in the denim footsteps. 6-year-old dannielynn, is starring in guess's spring ad campaign for kids. guess creative director says she has the same playful spirit her mother would carry onto the set. the ads were shot in malibu,

california beach. lori: she is adorable. melissa: they start appearing on magazines, buses. she is really beautiful kid. guess is expected to report third quarter earnings tomorrow. the stock is trading near 52-week lows. they need something, maybe dannielynn is the key to success. lori: so debatable. she is adorable. she is same age as my kids. she was on a plane with them. my kids were so horribly based and she was perfect. anyway. the hits keep on coming for hewlett-packard. autonomy's former ceo rejected hp's allegations of fraud. shareholders line up to sue. melissa: later, 500 million dollars up for grabs. find the four leaf clove very, rabbit ace foot, whatever you got. we're chasing powerball frenzy. ♪

can. lori: follow up to this hewlett-packard accounting debacle. autonomy ceo mike lynch is firing back at hp just a short while lynch wrote an open letter to the company demanding details on the allegations of on autonomy's accounting practices. hp responded. we believe the legal process is the best way to bring out the facts. we look forward to hearing dr. lynch and other autonomy employees answer questions under penalty of perjury. shares of hp. shall we have a look? off 18 cents a share, down more than 10% over the

month. melissa: while the stock market has spent the last month in the doldrums a few of the least respected tech companies have seen their stocks soar. sandra smith has the look at these unexpected winners in today's trade. >> look at the nasdaq. it is only major average sporting a gain. if you look at a one-week chart, seven days in a row, if we finish up today, it would be the seventh winning day for the nasdaq, longest winning streak in 16 months. even those thee are not all up today, research in motion has been killing it over the past month. let me bring up a year-to-date chart. that is the blackberry maker. no one wanted to touch this thing all year. the stock had a significant decline all the way into the last quarter of the year. it reported better-than-expected results. if you look at a one-month chart, this stock is up over 53% over the last month. buyers have on about flocking in. analysts at jeffries are saying that the new blackberry could be a winner. the company will avoid the worst-case scenario.

national bank just raised their price target to the 15 bucks. it is left have been and -- 11 and change today. that is good buy. this is the gains facebook seen recently up 18% over the past month. of course this is still a far cry at 26 bucks a share from the debut price earlier in the year but the bullish investors are flocking to facebook. bernstein just said they expect facebook, lori and melissa, to outperform the s&p five in new year. melissa: i heard that. that is amazing. i don't know. interesting. thanks so much. lori: all eyes on the powerball jackpot which just bumped up to a record $500 million. i'm not going to be at work tomorrow if i win that. melissa: are you sharing? lori: depends how nice you are to me the rest of the day. even before tomorrow's drawing seems the jackpot already has a winner, states. this year state lottery commissions saw historic year of revenue from ticket sales. an astounding $60.8 billion. that is almost a 9% increase

from the previous fiscal year. the revenue from lottery sales is becoming increasingly important to cash-strapped state governments. last year powerball doubled the ticket price to $2 and boosted jackpots and sales revenue by 27%. more expensive powerball tickets are not keeping people from trying to win big. millions of americans have already bought tickets. do your part. contribute to my winnings and help out your state in the meantime. melissa: i love that. coming up tonight on "money", transcanada's ceo joins me in exclusive interview about thh keystone pipeline. remember that thing? transcanada is working on the southern part of the pipeline the county down is ticking on the public hearing on the revised northern route. we'll talk about that 5:00 p.m. eastern here on fox. lori: keep it in the headlines. that pipeline is so important to jobs and overall development. coming up, forget the fiscal cliff. is that even possible. melissa: i don't think it is possible but we'll try. lori: are we headed to

fiscal cliff with tax hikes. this could change your entire strategy. tracy byrnes and ashley webster all over the story next here on fox business. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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>> just going to stand here? dow is down 36 points. >> i didn't know we were coming up. >> there it is. we can just -- >> nasdaq is really in good shape. it is on track to close up seven consecutive sessions which would be the longest winning streak in 16 months, ashley and tracy. >> look who is back, ashley webster. tracy: i think that is the most important news of the day. ashley: lottery got to 500 million. had to come back. that's all i'm saying. you're not going to win. because i'm winning. >> how many tickets did you

by already? ashley: i'm not saying. >> how can you support the system? stop it. >> what a killjoy. tracy: regressive tax. does not grow to schools. who the heck -- and i have a bridge to sell you lori rothman. ashley: thank you, ladies. >> have a great hour. ashley: thank you. tracy: the bah humbug tracy byrnes. ashley: i'm ashley webster. 34 days and counting until that fiscal cliff. white house and congress will appear no closer to reaching a deal or even talking about one for that matter. how long will it take to get some action? tracy: if only. a dire warning on housing. despite new signs of recovery, fiscal risk expert chris whalen will tell us why he says housing is going to drag the economy back into recession next year. ashley: talk about bah humbug? would you like to win half a billion dollars? that is a stupid question. of course you would. just before the holidays as well.

the record powerball jock pot is getting bigger. we'll take you, we'll tell you actually your chances of winning the prize and it is not very good but you can't win if you don't play as the lottery says. i know you hate it. tracy: i do. i absolutely clearly opposed to it. ashley: i went hate it when i win but i will remember you. tracy: thank you. ashley: first time for look at stocks at this hour as we do every 15 minutes. down to nicole petallides on the floor of nyse. nicole, stocks at least coming off early losses. >> right. we've improved some. i don't know if you were going to invite me on tracey's lot when she wins the lotto. you can come on mine in case i win. nasdaq is up the majority of the day and still holding on but just four points. you're not seeing heavy volume. just basically pushing up against its 200 day moving average. worth noting this could be

seven in a row, seven up days in a row for the nasdaq composite. we haven't seen that over 16 months where it was up eight days in a row. let's see whether we pull it out as a winner for the nasdaq. i'll let you know at the end of the day. we're looking at conagra buying ralcorp for nearly five billion, $90 a share. this makes them the second largest packaged food company behind kraft. when you think of oning a gra, orville redenbacher popcorn, slim jims, sunflower seeds which everybody eats and big deal when you see both moving higher. ralcorp moving to a new high. back to you. ashley: nicole, thank you very much. tracy: sunflower seeds blows my mind. people can empty the seed in their mouth and shell. that is a skill. ashley: can't teach it. just pure instinct. baseball players are great at that. tracy: i know. this is why i don't play. ashley: you need to practice more. brown foreman, among the latest to declare a special

cash dividend as more and more companies get set for that looming fiscal cliff. robert gray joins us from the newsroom with more on this story, robert? >> ashley, if we do fall over the cliff, keep in mind dividend tax rates go from 15% from the wealthiest americans out there up to 43.4% unless congress does some acting. look why they're doing this. companies are paying it out before year-end, with so much tax uncertainty, these are companies primarily with healthy balance sheets. we should watch for more announcements in the next couple weeks as that 34 days begins to wind down. brown foreman knowning $4 a share special one-time payment to shareholders boosted dividend this month by 9%. set to pay that out by 26th. though chose to make this payment in calendar 2012 because of the uncertainty surroundings future dividend tax rates. look at brown-forman.

we heard from las vegas sands and dillard's. if you think they're being so benevolent, heavy insider ownership. sheldon adelson, biggest owner of las vegas sands will save him a tidy 380 million bucks to the taxman taking payment to this december as opposed to a payment next year. that is $2.75 per share. that is according to the latest filings. dillard's paying five bucks per share. as far as investors go i talk to noted dividend investor john snyder. he is not a big-time of one time payout. he prefers dividends paid year after year. ashley: less to pay to the taxman. robert, thank you very much. >> you're will come. tracy: let's talk more about that. for more higher tax rates on dividends and cap gains mean for your portfolio and what you can do to get ahead of the fiscal cliff, eric davidson, depthty chief investment officer for

wells fargo private bank joins us right now. eric, let me ask you. there seems to be a lot of panic selling, right? we're getting special dividends and we're harvesting capital gains. selling things at the top. should we be doing this? are people making the right decisions based on possible tax hikes? >> well, yes. good afternoon. yeah, without question there's a lot of discussion about the fiscal cliff and the problem for investors is they don't get the opportunity to kick the can down the road like the politicians do. for investors on the backside of the tax mountain there is income cliff. it comes both on capital gains side and dividend side as you've been talking about. ashley: eric, investors are starved for income. what can you do? you can't sell dividend stocks because of higher tax rates around the corner, right? >> by no means you don't want to dump your dividend stocks. for many years investors were lulled into the fact not thinking about too much after tax returns because

investments have enjoyed very good and very positive low tax rates but going forward investors will have to be thinking not necessarily about what they make but about what they keee. and so for dividends and investors have been looking into dividends as another source of income, by no means do you want to get rid of those. like we talk time and time again about diversifying assets, investors more and more have to think about diversifying their income streams as well. tracy: what about moving stuff into retirement accounts, traditional iras, roth iras, even 401(k)? buy your dividend stocks there? >> absolutely. asset allocation is very, very important. so is asset location. you want to think about where you've been putting income-producing invests where the capital gains are coming from. ashley: what about fixed income, eric? in particular corporate bonds, are you a fan of those? >> well, corporate bonds, particularly on the short end are a good place to be particularly on relative basis versus very, very low rates. in fact the negative real

rates you get in treasurys. and if in fact the worst-case scenario happens for this fiscal cliff where you do in fact have dividends being taxed at effectively 43.4, what that does really puts corporate bond coupon income on a level playing field with dividend income. tracy: we're certainly seeing bond prices through the roof these days. eric davidson, wells fargo private bank. thank you for sharing your thoughts, sir. >> thank you very much. ashley: much more ahead this hour including president obama planning a campaign-like push if you like on the fiscal cliff. does he have any plans to meet with congress though? tracy: have you bought your ticket yet? i have not. and i will not. power ball just hit a record $500 million. we'll tell you your chance of winning next. there aren't enough zeroes zeroes, .00000%. ashley: bah humbug. tracy: as we do every day at this time of day. look how oil is moving, down slightly.

$87.14 a barrel. metals too, all down. gold, silver. copper is flat. we'll be right back

tracy: it is that time of day. we have to make some money with charles payne. this hour he has a stock that will make you money with stones. huh? >> rolling stones? you have to have some stones to mess around with this one, i tell you right now.

welcome back tracy, i mean ashley. tracy: thank you. >> tracy was so upset yesterday i came out with very conservative. tracy: so lame. long term. >> serve one for you. ashley: going the other way today. >> this is completely other way. talk about gutsy, molycorp? >> we yeah. >> this was straight up and then straight down. they do rare eithers. they do. one of the problems is execution. they start their minds up. cost them a lot of money. here's the thing, guy, demand will really start to go up globally for this stuff particularly as the economy comes back online. china subsidizes theirs. u.s. has a complaint with the u.s. trade organization. i think that will resolve itself. i like what i've been seeing with insiders. insiders have bought 7 million shares of the stock recently. the ceo bought a big block equivalent to 10% of the

salary. one thing to see a billionaire buy a few million of a stock when you see a ceo buying 10% of his stock. i would prefer to pull the trigger above nine on the better than average volume. above nine on better of that an average volume. stop loss around 10. if it breaks you get 50%. extraordinarily high-risk. tracy: stop loss at 7? >> 7. big block for myself. i have not pulled the trigger yet. use same parameters. i will let the volume tell me to pull the trigger. i think the stock is poised for gigantic move to the upside but again it is extraordinarily risky. ashley: do you play the lottery, charles?% >> i know tracy doesn't it. be honest i don't play unless 100 million or more. if you win, 10 million, cousinses want money. he was cheap. you need a whole new life. if you make less than a 100

million you need a whole new life, new family, new friends. tracy: we need a whole hour to discuss that rationale but we unfortunately don't have it. >> finally won lottery ticket and one share of molycorp. tracy: relatives come out of the woodwork. >> i guaranty you connect the dots we'll be first cousins. ashley: how did you know? thank you, charles. >> from the sicilian side. ashley: all eyes on tomorrow's second highest lottery drawing. the powerball jackpot, yep, half a billion. $500 million. there is already a winner of course, state governments. states taking in a record $60.8 billion this year. 9% increase from last year. this is important revenue stream for cash-strapped state governments. before you get too excited statisticians put your odds of winning at 1 in 175 million. that is not bad. meaning you much more likely

to die from a falling coconut or even to win an academy award than strike it rich tomorrow but the government, with its 40% take of the winnings will be a winner anyway. watch out for the coconuts. who gets killed by a falling coconut? tracy: those are the odds. that is why, what is it a dollar? how much does it cost? ashley: $2 now on the powerball. the fact that know that shows you. tracy: buying a pack of gum. has more life. it has more. ashley: okay. tracy: i can't, regressive tax on the poor. can't take it. ashley: boy what a killjoy. as we do every 15 minutes. check on the markets, nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. are you going to buy a ticket or will you buy one? >> i'm in a group thing. a bunch traders come and ask me for small donation. i put in equal amount so we're in equal amount. if i'm really rich i let you know and i pay taxes as well.

let's look at corning. corning is a clear winner. they make a whole bunch things but they're doing well with is gorilla glass. gorilla glass is used on smartphones and tablets. they're seeing growth in that area. those projections of profit over a billion dollars from gorilla glass is enough to give it a big boost, up 7.3%. they make displays for flat panel televisions. look at scion -- sigh yons bancorp. it is talking about the capital-gains tax hit the company's loan growth. that is not good news. they cut their earnings estimates on zions, down 3%. back to you. ashley: buying the tickets for your syndicate. make sure they don't disappear. >> they photocopied the tickets. tracy: trying sign in blood you're on the list, girl.

i don't trust anybody. ashley: thank you, nicole. what is your problem. tracy: coming up, digesting the greek debt deal. is it really the best solution for all of europe? i don't know. leading currency analyst marc chandler from brown brothers harriman will weigh in. ashley: greek government should buy the lottery tickets. they could sure use the money. look how the dollar is doing. how the currencies are doing against the good ol' u.s. of a. euro was up slightly for a short time today. but the pound up slightly against the u.s. dollar. we'll be right back.

>> at 21 minutes past the hour i'm patti ann browne with your fox news minute. protesters are filling tahrir square in cairo, egypt, as people express their opposition to president mohammed morsi's move to increase his power. tens of thousands of people are demonstrating across the country. it is one of the biggest rallies since hosni mubarak's ouster next year. senators mccain, ayotte and graham would not support nomination for u.n. ambassador susan rice to be next secretary of state

until questions about the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya are resolved. rice met with the lee lawmakers over her initial comments about the attack which she said it stemmed from an anti-islamic video. in the wake of jerry sandusky's child sex abuse trial said changes are needed they should handle how child abuse cases are handled and revamp how child abuse cases are investigated. that is the latest from fox news nit work. back to tracy and ashley. ashley: patti ann browne, thank you very much. we have another deal to announce to for greece's next debt payment. the euro touched on 1.30 earlier today. for more on all of this, i'm joined by marc chandler, global head of currency strategy at brown brothers harriman. mark, thank you for being here. we thought the euro may get a boost with the latest news that greece is getting next

round of help assuming the parliaments in question agree but the only very briefly touched on the 1.30 and dropped back again. where do you see the euro going? >> ironic in many ways the market, we often buy the rumor and sell the fact. we bought the rumor of a greek deal three or four times already. turn around tuesday, you get a little bit of profit-taking. everything said and done euro holding above 1.2930 and some change. i think it is fairly resilient. try to push again above 1.30. people are changing the focus. know they kicked the can down the road a little more about greece now now we focus on the u.s. and fiscal cliff. despite recent republicans pledges giving up pledge on taxes still don't see any resolution anytime soon. we expect it will be a brinkmanship game. will go down to the wire, maybe a little after. ashley: interesting. stick with europe a little bit. spanish political situation is interesting no doubt. he really has a battle on

his hand not only getting the handle on the economy but fractious politics of these breakaway regions which for now are staying in place but how does this all impact going forward especially with regard to the euro and of course now that greece, for the time-being is being taken care of, where do you see it going? >> i think that the election this past weekend in cat loan yaw, which is one fifth of everything spain produces is produced in this one region. ashley: yeah. >> i think the election results, president of the region advocated this snap election. i think he didn't get quite what he wanted. he lost about 20% of his seats. ashley: yeah. >> many people in the market are afraid of center right coalition with a center left. only thing they agree on a strong, independent, catlonia. ashley: right. >> i think the prime minister will have to renegotiate with the regions especially cat at that loan yaw. especially the division of the tax revenue. i think the bigger picture

the when will spain formally ask for aid? many people thought it would take place already. ashley: yeah. >> my best guess doesn't take place until later q1 next year when the spain has record refinancing it has to do. that is when a weak economy, interest rates rising, they have to sell more paper. that is when they're forced to get --. ashley: get that money. yeah. quickly with the fiscal cliff, what impact if any does it have on the dollar? >> on the short run probably nothing. as we're watching it, i think people are a bit hesitant getting too long the dollar. in this case too short of the euro. i think in the bigger picture i see a win-win situation for the dollar. we go over the fiscal cliff, bad news. ashley: yeah. >> world's biggest economy headed for another recession. i think dollar benefits as a safe haven currency. we avoid going over the fiscal cliff or go over the fiscal cliff for short period of time people focus on the u.s. for a bit because europe is in recession.

win-win situation for the dollar but we have to get through the correction first. ashley: big correction to get through. thank you. >> appreciate it. ashley: thank you. tracy: good stuff. will the coast of hurricane sandy keep adding up? man, they are huge now. now the question is who will pay for the storm? federal government or local taxpayers like well, us? liz macdonald here is more with emac's bottom line. do they know the final number? good to be with you guys. they don't know the final number. governor andrew cuomo is weighing in on this debate. cost for new york state, $41 million. 19 billion in new york city alone. what is being incurred to date by the state of new jersey. when all said and done could surpass the cost of hurricane katrina which stood $110 billion. when you look at the numbers, basically the power outages in the region from hurricane sandy are about two times more power outages versus what we saw in hurricane katrina. when it comes to the number

of homes destroyed, 50% more homes destroid in hurricane sandy versus hurricane katrina cat. hurricane katrina claimed for lives. 1866 people were killed by hurricane katrina. versus 185 deaths from hurricane sandy. destruction and damage governor cuomo may have it right. as to who pays for it? ordinarily the u.s. government picks up 75% of the tab for restoring government services including things like mass transit. as for now both governor cuomo and governor christie of new jersey are saying wait a second we want the federal government to pick up even more of the tab possibly 90% to 100%. governor cuomo is pretty pointed whether or not he will let his state's taxpayers pay any of the costs. here is governor cuomo. >> to try to finance through taxes, would incapacitate the state. my philosophy hasn't changed. tax increases are always the last, last, last, resort.

>> so for right now you guys, -pwe're waiting to see whether or not the president, president obama steps in and uses his authority to basically issue, basically payments out of the federal government towards the states of new jersey and new york. once we hear about that, we'll get back to you. back to you guys. tracy: liz macdonald, thank you very much. >> sure. tracy: numbers are staggering. ashley: and they keep going up too. coming up regulation nation. why thousands of americans are joining a fight against new epa rules on oil and gas. tracy: plus signs of progress on the fiscal cliff. that is comforting, isn't it? when will the white house and congress come together? god only knows at this point. let's look at some of the winners and losers on the s&p 500 as we head out to break. monster beverage up 10%. corning, we were just talking about that earlier, up 7%. dow is down 73 points. we'll be right back.

>> heather i am. [laughter] and. >> that makes me laugh. it makes me giggle. let's check on the market every 15 minutes with nicole petallides at new york stock exchange. >> day know what? if you are a little bullish you are a little happy. we're selling off 10 points off the lows. some of the traders talking about the comments made by

harry reid with the cautionary tone with the fiscal cliff and you have to push back to washington and decisions need to be made fast. so with the intraday chart we hasselhoff again but the dow was down 68 points the s&p is down 1/3 of 1%. it was in a green but now when the red like hewlett-packard, american express way on the dow. tracy: chevron, i am. we will see when 15 minutes span of three weeks since the bombing was elected a yet there seems to be little progress to hammer out the agreement between the president and congressional leaders to avoid the looming

fiscal cliff. spending cuts and tax hikes kicking and and analysts say it could kick is back into a recession. gerri willis is here to get it straight. >> i wish i could. >> is a mind-boggling we had made no progress? >> what has happened? absolute nothing now the president will go to the street he thinks the election is still on? i know understand going to pennsylvania but today he meets with middle-class americans. i would like to see all of the elite people to sit down until you get something. said in a little bit of food >> debt deal.

you know, that it will go to the last minute when you see what compromise has happened. >> i do not see anybody who wants to compromise. tracy: we have heard all along it is not just a deal but a good one. the future of the economy hinges on this. >> $3,500 per american of nothing happens. tax increases across the board. the economy is in the tank is not something we can sustain. we're already in recession or added tipping point*. that is really what we should be thinking about but i would be surprised to when they are fighting like

little kids. >> tonight we will be doing a lot of this with the fiscal cliff ad nauseam because i think it is the most important story out there. what do you need to do to prepare? >> gerri willis tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern. ashley: whale closes down the second loss in a row reading some relief at the pump? >> no. coming up an expert on the future of housing. tracy: but first take a look at the 10 and 30-year treasury is. the 30-year is moving down three basis points the dow

was down 82 points.ays wait we will be right back.he

>> i am lori rothman. another down day for the market now off 75 points. facing the uneven recovery deuterium. due to economic cooperation and development eurozone will continue to struggle even though they try to stabilize what the debt crisis. the first carmaker to integrate the steering mellowed into the carcass of drivers can continue talking to keep their eyes "on the road". the chevrolet shot big macs on it will have the first cars to show the technology

coming off the line next year. this is the latest from fox business, giving you the power to prosper.

ashley: new evidence the housing market is on the mend the case-schiller index shows prices are rising 3% from the year before but with the string of upbeat news the next guest is concerned what is on the horizon saying that it could drag the economy back into recession. chris whalen, thank you for our being here. wholesales is up call prices are up water we worry about? >> is off a low base i am

worried about the lack of credit for a look at dodd/frank that was supposed to be bad for the banks but it annihilated the brokers for good they are done because they have to be regulated with qualifications. to get into the market you have to have much more capital in the broker-dealer that you did not have to do before. so the capacity to make million-dollar loans is diminished all the business of banks to darfur guaranteed then there is no credit available if you own a house that is worth $2 million. the price will be compressed tracy: people cannot get loans than the foreclosure process is so behind the eight ball and know why pay

the mortgage. i have three years? >> the same with new york if the lawyer enters into foreclosure litigation you to be there more than three years. and in massachusetts you cannot foreclose under consumer protection have put so many roadblocks in place if you do not get the government guarantee you'd be out of your right -- undermine to read the jumbo loan also washington d.c.. you cannot foreclose because the populist government has changed the lot. ashley: so we went solo in the improvement looks like an improvement. >> if you were just late and a credit score is so low you cannot get a government guarantee.

they're rejecting 720 fico score you need 740 with the 20 percent down and how many can qualify for that? we have reduced the pool of people who can qualify. ashley: and the amount. >> then we have basel iii forcing the banks out entirely. tracy: so what is the future? >> the regulators will have to say forget about the fiscal cliff we will have a recession anyway. real-estate is so important. if you live in the northeast getting a job in south carolina you cannot sell your house but stifles mobility we have to fix list.

my friends say we will never have private mortgage backed securities. we have no choice. >> we cannot rely on the government forever. >> thank you for being here. tracy: the battle between hp and michael lynch getting vicious with both sides trading jabs. shibani jonesy is back. >> i am the first to a bit the whole saud is want the with accounting irregularities the way autonomy record did revenues but the way this is so publicly unfolding i brought you a public statement that mike lynch the former ceo put out of mac hp should

provide me with the interim report or any of the document that you say that alleges i did anything wrong instead of selective disclosure to the public. " hp fires back we had have uncovered extensive evidence on behalf of certain and former employees to inflate the underlying metrics we think it is the correct message to wring out the facts we look forward to hearing anybody answer to questions under the penalty of perjury. there will take this into court questions about autonomy and what they have done but the company has to look inside itself. there has been a lot of finger-pointing but they did

conduct -- conduct meticulous due diligence remember that etfs deal then meg whitman approved the upon a repurchase while the board member and have the ability to kill the deal but she did not do that so internal questions need to be answered but also larger questions outside. it will be played out and we will see how this develops. something different every day. tracy: good to have the back. and meg whitman said all point* the finger set them. ashley: mike lynch the best form of attack is defense now back to nicole petallides at new york stock exchange.

>> about 50 minutes ago we spoke and harry reid is one of the reasons the market is selling off. then we hit another session low. and we aeronaut too far off of that budget the loss to the offense went directly asked harry reid would not name any cuts there would be willing to offer. but they said they needed credit for cuts previously made. with that, there is no bipartisanship they're not reaching any agreement anytime soon. that is why we're down 82 points. dollar general going into the friday close with the up arrow. cooper industries.

and then they said it was constructive. >> that is all they needed to hear. ashley: that means nothing. tracy: clearly. they cannot agree on a pack of gum. can obamacare go back to the supreme court really? judge andrew napolitano says yes. next. ashley: look at the winners and losers. the dow off by 80 points. research in motion downp 2%. nearly 9%. we will be right back.

ashley: the epa may be close to of closing new regulations on air quality and carbon emissions that some say are too harsh. one senator tries to prevent the new rules from going into effect. >> j'mison hof the head of the environment committee and the most vocal critic comment today the heartland institute presented him more than 16,000 petitions to demand congress rainman a rogue agency. cut hours, size come of

lending. saying the bomb that administrations is loaded and delayed to help the reelection campaign with the house gas standards and no ozone gases and now they will flood the nation with costly rules. >> i could not even stand here to tell you how much it would cost for all taxpayers in exceeds $400 billion per year. >> white house did not immediately respond. nor did the epa but the white house says it will balance considerations when deciding what to regulations to issue. tracy: we have been talking about this the supreme court has ordered the fourth circuit court of appeals challenging obamacare because of the requirement

of players provide contraceptive budget -- coverage claiming it is unconstitutional. could end up back in the supreme court? judge andrew napolitano is here to explain it. >> yes. but not us who oppose the statute to would like. it is not a challenge to the individual mandate with the constitutionality but one of the requirements that if you are an employer, hospital, school, you have to provide health insurance and that has to include four euthanasia and abortion and contraception. hobby lobby, nabors if notre dame but the archdiocese and liberty university said we belong to a religious group.

it has a well-founded objection to the services so forcing us to provide a policy violates our conscience. it interferes with the free exercise of religious beliefs because of first amendment prevents that. the court did not review this because this challenge was not before it in june when they found it to be constitutional. >> of fourth circuit is very liberal there is no guarantee there will hear it or the supreme court will pick it up? >> it will make its way. there are 45 plaintiffs all over the country, most of them are catholic organizations are christian organizations that have a well grounded history of

oppose dain contraception reason asia or any combination. the supreme court has ruled you cannot say my a religion prevents me but if the government forces you to do something in direct contradiction they can be stopped for govett is the issue. politically? john roberts is looking to do a favor for the conservatives that believe he abandoned them. >> he heard me say that. ashley: up through the last hour of trading. infections costing the health care system billions but there may be a game changing treatment to help patients fix their finances.

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